


Rose Red

by betweenheroesandvillains



Series: Thorns and Roses [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Food and Clothes, M/M, PDWP, Pomegranates, Pretty Dresses What Plot, giving Food Porn a new meaning, the correct way of eating pomegranate, this is all versus_a_blank_page's fault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 07:55:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betweenheroesandvillains/pseuds/betweenheroesandvillains
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo has never eaten a pomegranate, and Hux is only too happy to change that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rose Red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [versus_versus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/versus_versus/gifts).



> Still versus_a_blank_page's fault.
> 
> I spent thirty minutes watching videos on the right way to cut pomegranates. The things we do for art...

"What is this?"

Hux looks up from his holopad, glad for every distraction from Phasma's revised quarterly report. The captain of his guard keeps him updated on a weekly basis, so this report is more of a technicality. Kylo is holding a red fruit that fits perfectly in his hand, watching it with a tilted head, his eyes narrowed. Hux notes that the colour of his lipstick is the exact same shade of red as the fruit, but he tries very hard not to dwell on that observation. He puts down the holopad, the reports can wait. "This," he says as he takes off his glasses, "Is a pomegranate." Kylo's eyes snap over to him, and Hux feels a small nudge against his mind, like a warning, before a whiff of curiosity ghosts through his thoughts. "A... what?" Hux gets to his feet and walks over to his consort. Kylo looks beautiful in the dress he has chosen for today.

 

"Casual wear," he had said when he had caught Hux staring at him out of the corner of his eyes. Hux would not exactly call a dress mostly made of white feathers 'casual wear', but since it didn't show off any skin with the high collar, it probably seemed almost prudish to Kylo. But it was tailored to his body, and in combination with his make-up and hairdo the dress gave him a regal look even though it was relatively plain, compared to his usual attire.

 

Hux wraps his hand around Kylo's wrist and presses down just at the right spot to force Kylo's hand to open. He takes the fruit out of Kylo's palm and examines it closely. Pomegranates are rare and expensive, and he has only eaten a few in his life. But there in the crystal bowl are three more, and indulging Kylo is one of his two weaknesses (the other being Kylo himself). "Pomegranate." He looks up into Kylo's dark eyes. Or rather, he intends to. But his consort's eyes are trained on the red fruit. Suddenly, Hux remembers that Snoke abducted Kylo when he was still a child. So he holds the pomegranate up. "Have you ever eaten one?"

Kylo shakes his head, and Hux thinks he should have known. He ate his first pomegrenate at the age of twenty-three at a gala dinner. From what he knows, Kylo might have lived off nothing while being busy leading the Knights of Ren. So he interlaces his fingers with Kylo's and leads him to the ornamented table that stands in their chambers, just in case they want to dine in private. With one last tug he whirls Kylo around and pushes him down into a chair. "I'll show you, then." His consort opens his mouth for a sarcastic remark, but Hux won't have any of it. So he just bows down and captures Kylo's lips in a kiss, not caring that the red lipstick is probably getting all over his face. It's late in the afternoon, and except for reading reports he has nothing planned. Kylo's hand settles on the back of Hux's neck, holding him firmly in place. Normally, Hux would not be opposed to some making-out, but the pomegranate in his hand reminds him of what he actually wanted to do before Kylo's assault. So he wriggles himself free from Kylo's hold and takes a well-measured step back, out of his consort's reach. But he can't keep his voice from going low and husky as he says, "Later." He raises his hand with the fruit. "First, I'm going to show you how to properly eat a pomegranate." Kylo flashes him an arrogant smile, white teeth between blood coloured lips. "Oh, please. How hard can that be?" Hux contemplates letting him try it. There would be nothing more satisfying that watching Kylo Ren struggle with a fruit the size of his fist. The red that would be spilling all over his white robe would look amazing, but...

"It's harder than you think. Pass me a knife." Hux stretches out his hand and waits for Kylo to move. His consort stares at him, not a muscle in his face twitching. One of the razor-sharp knives beside the crystalline fruit bowl starts levitating, yet Hux doesn't turn his head to watch it. He only looks at Kylo, not once breaking eye contact while the knife floats towards him, moved by an invisible force. The blade comes dangerously close to his skin, but in the last possible moment, the knife turns and he wraps his fingers around the handle. "Thank you." He is glad it comes out as impassive as he intended. The Force still creeps him out most days.

Hux pulls another chair closer so he can sit down beside Kylo. He angles his hand and says, "Look." He sinks the tip of the knife into the fruit. "First of all, you cut out a cone here." He cuts in a circle while saying, "And be careful not to cut too deep, you don't want to cut into the seeds." The top part comes off easily enough. "Hollow it out a bit. Then turn it over, and slice off this part of the stem end." He demonstrates it on the pomegranate, feeling Kylo's gaze on his hands. He hesitates half a second, thinking about how to explain the next step, when Kylo's bare foot caresses his calf. He pretends to ignore it as he proceeds. "Now, if you look at the pomegranate from the top," he turns his hand slightly so Kylo can see what he means, "You'll notice these ridges." Hux points at them with the tip of the knife, studying Kylo's expression. His consort nods once to show he saw and understood. "If you cut slightly into these ridges, just through the skin but not into the seeds, the fruit will break apart along the cuts fairly easily." While he talks, his hands follow his own instructions, and the pomegranate comes apart just as he predicted.

Awe floods his mind, which he realizes must be Kylo's reaction to the dark red seeds. He has to admit that pomegranates are aesthetically pleasing. "Give me your hand," he says softly, and Kylo follows the order without questioning it for once. His manicured hands are soft, the silvery sheen on his fingernails glittering in the light filtering through the stained glass. Carefully, he shakes a few seeds into Kylo's palm while stroking the back of his hand with his thumb. Kylo worries his lower lip between his teeth, eyes shifting from the seeds in his hand to Hux's face. "You just eat them? Like this?" Hux nods. "Yes." But his fingers closing around Kylo's wrist say Not yet very clearly. 

 

"There is an old legend, from some Outer Rim planet. A religious myth about their gods. It is said that the king of the underworld was looking for a wife, but none was worthy of this position, and he got tired of looking. But one day, as he was wandering the surface, he saw a girl in a meadow. She was accompanied by her friends, and as he listened in on their conversations it became clear to him that the girl was as bright as she was beautiful. He knew she was perfect to him, so he offered her his hand, his throne and his eternal service as her loyal husband. The girl hesitated, but after a prologed period of courting she found that she had fallen for the king of the underworld and came with him willingly. Yet her mother, a goddess, had other plans and asked for her to return at the day of their wedding. The girl refused, though, having settled into her rightful place as queen of the damned. So her mother tricked her into returning to the surface, and as soon as she set foot on the world of the living, she was abducted by her mother's servants. But the king of the damned, who had forseen this, had given her pomegranate seeds, knowing that once she had tasted food in the underworld, she would be eternally bound to it. So it came that the girl was sent back to her betrothed, living in the underworld against her mother's explicit wishes because that was where she was happiest."

 

Kylo's dark gaze does not waver as he pulls his hand out of his Emperor's grasp and eats the pomegranate seeds without breaking eye contact. Hux's breath catches in his throat, but he reels his frankly improper thoughts in before Kylo can snatch a look at them. He gets to his feet and walks back over to his desk, settling back into his chair and resuming to read the quarterly reports. But it is hard to concentrate on numbers and names with Kylo sitting only a few steps away, sucking on the red seeds with the most devious expression, making low noises and shifting in his chair. The Emperor pulls himself together and concentrates on his holopad. Then, seemingly as a side thought, he says, "Oh, be careful. The stains are almost impossible to wash out." Kylo does not answer in any way, so Hux allows himself to look up for half a second, just to check on his consort.

It's not fair. The way Kylo is sitting there is not fair, his long fingers pressed against his lips, the hair being put up in a heavy bun to reveal the bite marks just under his jaw. Hux manages to hold a sigh in and returns his attention to the reports. Phasma worked as thoroughly on them as always, and he only demanded certain corrections in the light of more recent events. He appreciates Phasma's work ethics and her military precision. She works hard, and her subordinates are the best and most loyal recruits the Empire knows. When he sees he is halfway through the report he allows himself to look up again. The view has him almost choke on his spittle. Kylo is licking juice off his hand, his long tongue curling around his fingers while he stares at Hux. There is a mischievous glint in his eyes as he pushes a finger in his mouth, making an obscene noise around the digit. Hux's jaw does not exactly drop but slackens for a moment before he can pull himself together again. He looks back at Phasma's report and scans another few pages, overly aware of Kylo putting on a show only a few steps away.

About 75 percent through the report, the sound of a chair being pushed back breaks the silence. He expects to hear Kylo approach him, but the sound of steps never happen. Hux looks up in slight confusion, being insuspicious is not exactly Kylo Ren's forte. He did not expect to find Kylo's face hovering only mere inches from his own. Before he can open his mouth to make a snarky remark about personal space, Kylo takes the holopad out of his hands and puts it on his desk. "You have ignored me long enough, Your Highness." Kylo says it softly, his mouth just close enough to Hux's face so the Emperor can smell the pomegranate on his breath. Hux raises an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you are talking about." It earns him a huff from Kylo, who puts his left hand on Hux's chest and pushes him back. "Relax, darling. Let me distract you from your indubitably stressful work." There it is again, the sharp undertone that never fails to make Hux shiver. Kylo takes a seat on Hux's knees and brings his right hand up so Hux can see he is holding a segment of the pomegranate. He picks a few seeds with delicate fingers and presses them to Hux's mouth, which opens obediently.

The seeds are refreshing, sweet but with just the right hint of a sour note. They burst open on his lips already, probably staining them red. Hux does not care, not with the way Kylo is watching him. Like he is ready to devour him. It's equal measures exciting and terrifying, but Hux would not want it any different, not with the most powerful person in the whole wide universe sitting in his lap as if it's a throne. For a second, they are frozen like this, but then Kylo leans in and kisses him, and the ferocity he shows makes clear that he will not pull back this time. A hot tongue slips int Hux's mouth, and he yields embarrassingly quickly to the onslaught. Letting Kylo have what he wants for a moment is pleasurable enough, and Hux can feel the pent-up tension leave his body as Kylo's lips move against his. They kiss until they are both out of breath, and only then Kylo leans back. For a short moment, all Hux can see are his kiss-swollen lips. Then, his eyes are drawn to the red stain on Kylo's gown from where he pressed the segment of the pomegranate to his stomach. It looks like a blood stain, and Hux is reminded of the many times he had to patch Kylo Ren up himself, since he did not let the med droids touch him. But that is all over now, and the fact that after all they went through he can still hold Kylo like this is precious to Hux. His hands make their way to Kylo's cleavage, seemingly on their own account as he starts undoing the little hooks that hold the gown together. "Oh dear," he says, peeling Kylo out of the gown. "You have ruined your dress." The small hooks give easily under his practiced fingers, revealing more and more pale skin. It's like unwrapping a present. The stained gown falls off Kylo's shoulders and falls around his hips like the opening petals of a flower. Kylo dips his chin and lets his tongue run over Hux's lips. "Worth it." It's a huff of sweet air against the Emperor's mouth.

Hux sits up straighter, his hands roaming Kylo's torso, as they have done so often. He wants to card his fingers through Kylo's hair, but it's pulled back tightly except for a few decorative strands, so all he can do is pull Kylo's face to one side on these strands and sink his teeth in the soft skin an inch under Kylo's ear. The moan he elicits makes a smile ghost over his face as he licks and nibbles a path to Kylo's collarbone while his fingers run lightly over Kylo's ribs. It doesn't take long until Kylo puts his hands on Hux's shoulders and pushes him away. His pupils are blown wide with lust and his make-up is smudged, but it only makes him look more enticing. Without another word, Kylo slides off his lap and pulls Hux to his feet and over to their bed. The stained gown rides lower and lower on his hipbones with every long stride, and when Hux is practically thrown to the bed all it takes are a few well-aimed kicks to get it off him. Kylo's nimble fingers only need a couple of moments to unbutton Hux's uniform and undershirt and push them off his shoulders. He bows down and leaves lipstick stains all over Hux's pale chest while he rolls his hips. The friction draws an undignified and strangled noise from Hux as Kylo moves against the growing bulge in his pants. A string of curses falls from the consort's lips when Hux wraps his legs around his consort's hips and twists them around. "Hush," he whispers, pinning Kylo's arms to the mattress. "We have the whole evening. No need to rush." The promise in those words stops Kylo's writhing. Hux gives him an approving nod before he lets go of Kylo's arms and moves down his body until he can bury his head between Kylo's thighs.

 

Long, lithe fingers running up and down his spine are what Hux wakes up to. He blinks wearily, shuddering under the coolness of the touch. "Don't be annoying, Ren." His voice is a little rougher than usual, which is not unexpected after all the yelling of the past night. Kylo's chuckle is rather raspy, too. "Oh, my apologies. I should not suspect you want to get up in time, should I?" Hux sits up, his eyes searching the chrono. As soon as his eyes can focus on the time, the sudden rush of adrenaline subsides and he turns his head to glare at Kylo. "That was unnecessary." Kylo is already fully dressed in a voluminous dark blue gown he usually only wears to smaller meetings in which he does not feel like intimidating the delegates. The collar is high and jewelled, all of the sapphires hand-picked by Hux when he commissioned the gown in a vain attempt to get Kylo to wear more formal attire. It did not work as intended, so instead he had to change his opinion on what formal attire is supposed to look like. Hiding Kylo's body all the time would be a shame, anyways. His consort smiles, and Hux notices that he already put make-up on, a light foundation and night-blue eyeshadow, but his hair has yet to be done. "I'm sorry," Kylo says in a tone that clearly says he is not. "But when I bother with making you breakfast, I want to be present when you eat it." Hux raises an eyebrow when Kylo gets up and glides over to the table, picking up a small porcellain bowl and a spoon and returning to the bed. Despite suspecting what it is, Hux can't hide his tiny smile when he sees the pomegranate seeds. He eats them slowly, savouring each bite that tastes the better since he knows that Kylo prepared this for him. Kylo slips an arm around him and rests his chin on Hux's shoulder as the bowl empties. "By the way, it was not really that hard to open." He runs a hand up Hux's side and adds, softer now, "But I guess I had a good teacher."

He snatches the spoon out of Hux's hand and eats the last mouthful of pomegranate seeds.

**Author's Note:**

> The white dress was very much inspired by this one: https://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz2kt7F3s71r98qw7o1_540.jpg


End file.
